OMG MAC!

I enjoyed 99% of this novel, so, so much! The ending wasn't quiiiite there, for me. But that won't stop me from reading book 2. This author has real talent for writing great dialog and revealing complex emotional tangles in heartbreaking ways. I'm here for it. ( )

Thank you Mirjam
( )

4.5

What I felt right after I finished: an intense need to squeal like a little piglet girl and clap my hands in glee.

I almost put off reading this but the gracious soul who posted on DSPs Facebook page on Sunday saying they were reading it and it was good - I think there was a mention of it being funny, and I like funny books - made me pick it up right away. Thank you, nameless DSP employee!

After glancing at some of the other reviews, I think I may have read a different book. Or then my tastes just vastly differ from some of others' who read this story. I didn't feel it was slow or boring or just plain bad. Quite the contrary: the story flowed nicely, it was funny and simply a great read.

Bear with me, I'm going to ramble now.

From the beginning I enjoyed Mac's snark; in a way he reminded me of [a:Rhys Ford|4968409|Rhys Ford|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1308678470p2/4968409.jpg]'s Cole McGinnis, but Mac is at least twice as snarky as Cole is. It could have easily been too much, but to me right now it wasn't.

Besides snarky, Mac is also so terribly afraid. Afraid of losing another person who's a part of his life and important to him. A person he loves. His mom left him, his past lovers left him; it's not safe to love and trust anyone. He hides behind his attitude and takes everything in stride. It's the easy way or no way.

But then he meets Jordan. Good looking, funny Jordan who gets him. And who hires him to spy on his fiancée. So, also straight Jordan.

The chemistry between Mac and Jordan was very intense and palpable from the moment they met. Harmon did an excellent job at steering them toward the inevitable: being in a relationship.

It wasn't an easy road or one without twists and turns, but it was a credible one. And the way these two complemented each other all. The. Freaking. Time was amazing.

If I liked Mac's attitude, I really loved Jordan's resilience. He'd lived his life as a straight man, for crying out loud, yet from the moment he met Mac, even with how confused he understandably was, he pursued him. I doubt he knew exactly why it was so important to him that Mac be a part of his life, he just knew he needed Mac. So he made sure he had him in his life. First, as an employee, a friend (and some parts of this were so awkward with Mac knowing exactly what he wanted from Jordan, and Jordan obviously being attracted to Mac, but not yet able to admit it to the world or himself), and then as a lover.

I think this story is as much about Mac growing as a person as it is about him and Jordan falling in love, because as Jordan made realizations about himself and his life, so did Mac. He addressed some quite painful truths about his relationships with his family, and his past lovers. He faced things he'd not wanted to think about in years, of why his past relationships had failed. Without facing the ghosts of the past, he couldn't have truly loved Jordan, not in the way they both deserve.

One of my favorite reads this year, and it would have been a full 5 stars if not for the fact that Jordan never broke up with Rachel. Sure, it was said he had done it around the time he and Mac really got together, but I missed it actually happening. Did I fall asleep in the middle of reading or was it not there? Because I feel like it should have been a part of the story. If nothing more then at least there could have been a sentence in the narration, Mac telling Jordan had really done it. Because I have to admit I thought Jordan was still with her even when Mac was practically living with him, and I was slightly confused as to how they managed to sneak behind her back. Then suddenly he's broken the engagement two months ago? I guess it could have been there, and I could have missed it, but I don't think so. Tell me if I'm wrong.

As far as the whole PI thing goes, I think that part of the story could have used some page time, and development, but as a romance novel it was fantastic. And hot. The sex scenes were intense! I love how Jordan took up on having sex with a man instead of a woman. And not just how the handled the sex, but actually having feelings for a man. Yeah, it wasn't easy for him, and yeah, maybe he didn't handle it too well all the time, but he still went after what he wanted, regardless if what he wanted was something he'd never before thought he'd ever want.

The supporting characters; Mac's family, his friends and co-workers, his former lovers, the fireman his brother set him up with... Every single character in this book was one I enjoyed spending time with. And they all fit the story perfectly. And when I say perfect, it doesn't have the same meaning as when Mac says it.

I can't remember the last time I pulled an allnighter with a book but the further into this story I got, the less I wanted to put it down until finally a little after 8 am I was all finished with it. This was positive because I was really tired, and negative because there was no more of Mac and Jordan to read about.

Long story short: Bravo, [a:S.E. Harmon|8119001|S.E. Harmon|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1397621469p2/8119001.jpg]. Write more. The sooner the better! ( )

Stay With Me is a quick story, starting off a bit slow, but soon drew me in once a few things were revealed. There's a lot to take in even in only a few thousand words. Hawke's writing built up a great sympathy for Logan, the main character, and I couldn't have asked for the story to end any better. It's the type of ending I enjoy seeing from a story of this kind. ( )

3.5 stars ( )